Nothing fancy here, just tried and true, old fashioned, family style recipes from my kitchen in Alaska.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

KID FRIENDLY JELLO FROSTING!!

UPDATE: New sugar free option at the end of this post.UPDATE: Since posting this on Pinterest, a few people have commented that this frosting deflated on them after a day at room temperature. I've never had this problem, because I live in a DRY climate, but those of you living in HUMID climates are having this problem. So... if you live in a humid climate, you'll need to store the frosted cake in the fridge.

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This frosting recipe has a lot of things going for it. It is fast, super light, smooth and creamy on the tongue (very similar to a 7 minute frosting, but so much easier). Neatest of all, is that it is flavored with jello, so you can make it in ANY Jello flavor you like...watermelon? blueberry? pinacolada? Kids will LOVE this frosting.

Place the Jello powder, granulated sugar, egg white and vanilla in a GLASS OR METAL mixing bowl of a stand mixer. DO NOT USE PLASTIC and make sure your glass or metal bowl is clean of any grease or oil.

Turn the mixer on HIGH and immediately add the half cup of BOILING water. Whip on high for five minutes and you will get this:

NOTE: This recipe only seems to work if you use a stand mixer, with whisk attachment. Also, make sure you use a glass or metal mixing bowl, do not try this with a plastic bowl.NOTE:Some people have commented that they don't think raw egg whites are safe for children to eat. The egg whites in this recipe are no longer raw after you add the BOILING WATER.NOTE: This recipe makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes, or a 9 x 13 cake. If you are going to do any piping or edges, you might have to double the recipe.

NOTE: This frosting pipes beautifully and holds its shape well. Like any 7 minute type frosting, it does get a little sticky/tacky the second day, so its best if you make it the day you want to serve it. If you have to make it the night before, just store it in an airtight container that doesn't touch the frosting.NOTE: This frosting has so many fun possibilities for birthday cakes/cupcakes. It would also make a wonderful filling.

SUGAR FREE FROSTING OPTION

Since putting this recipe on Pinterest, I have heard from several people who are wondering about the possibility of sugar free jello and Splenda...well, I had to try it.

First of all, we didn't like it as much as the original recipe (with regular jello and granulated sugar). The taste was good, but the texture of the sugar free version + Splenda was just a little too foamy for us (that didn't stop us from eating it though...lol)

I followed the original recipe, substituting exact amounts with the sugar free products

I used 2/3 cup of granulated Splenda, 1 egg white, 1 teaspoon vanilla and a small (4 serving) size box of sugar free jello. I mixed those items together in my stand mixer and added 1/2 cup of BOILING (not just hot) water while the mixer was running on HIGH. Let the boiling water run down the inside of the mixing bowl, so it cools off a couple degree's before hitting the egg white.Mix on HIGH setting for at least 5 minutes (will take longer if you are in a humid climate). After 5 minutes, my frosting looked like this:

It was very foamy, and almost tasted like a sweet fruity meringue. It still pipes nicely, here's an example:

I'm not sure whats up with the sparkle; the final frosting DID have a "fairy tale shine" to it, and I thought perhaps it might have a granular taste, but it didn't; it was very smooth.I let this frosting sample set out at room temperature for several hours to see if it would deflate (it didn't), but it did form a VERY THIN crispy crust (keep in mind I'm in a dry climate). I also put a similar frosting sample (uncovered) in the fridge and after a few hours, there was NO appreciable difference between it and the sample I kept at room temperature.It's hard to explain the mouth feel of this sugar free frosting, maybe a photo will help:

I cut the frosting sample in half... it tasted sort of like a cross between a sweet meringue and a wet marshmallow whip... does that make sense?My conclusion: We liked the original recipe better, however, if your dietary concerns require a sugar free frosting, this is worth a try!!

That looks really fun! The kids will love it. I buy jello (an off-brand, actually) online in packs with a bunch of different flavors. There are some different ones it would be fun to try this with: peach, sour apple, blueberry. Thanks for sharing! Kelly

How creative! I make "rainbow jello" which has become the one recipe that attracts visitors to my blog, so this recipe is a neat twist on how to use jello! I love using jello around color-themed holidays (St. Patty's, Christmas, Easter) because you can choose any color you want! Thanks for the great recipe and post!

Made the kid friendly jello frosting today with Strawberry. It tasted amazing!! We loved the flavor! The color was great too. But I could not get mine to thicken up like your's did to pipe it. I beat it for 10 mins and it was still soupy. I even tried some cornstarch but that didn't work either :( It's alright though I just served the cupcakes in dessert bowls and poured it over!! Thanks for the recipe!

Hi Coleen, oh I love you! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I have a hand mixer (Hamilton Beach, bought a while back for $15) and was nervous about trying the recipe since you had said to use stand mixer. But even with my little hand mixer, I got great frosting - fluffy and stiff! I used a little less than 1/2 cup boiling water (because my bowl turned out to be small) and I whipped the mixture for an additional 2 mins. The only thing that could improve was that the granulated sugar hadn't dissolved completely and I could taste it in the frosting. Any tips on what might have been the cause? Please do reply and advise. Thanks! - Neelu

Hi Coleen, thanks for taking the time to respond. A followup question - I had added the boiling water a little at a time. Do you think that might have caused the sugar to not dissolve properly? Should I put all the water at the beginning? Thanks again, Neelu

To Kathleen: The icing will hold up for a couple days easily, although it will form a "skin" on it. If you don't want the "skin" which can be sticky to cut through, just cover the cake and no "skin" will form.

I had an issue with the frosting not forming peeks had to add 4 teaspoons corn starch to thicken it up. I was using a Kitchen Aid 4 1/2 quart metal bowl. Any ideas on how to do this without the corn starch?

Has anybody tried using this recipe for a cake filling? I want to try it with my birthday cakes but curious to know how it comes out (texture and taste wise) a day after. I usually frost/deorate cakes a day before pick-up or serving to guests.

This looks like so much FUN! I am planning to make cupcakes soon and was going to make vanilla or chocolate frosting, but I just might have to make Jell-o frosting instead. I'll bet it would be great with raspberry Jell-o!

I know this recipe as "Butterfly Icing" ('cause it's light!) It does work with a regular mixer, but it just takes a bit longer. If people are having issues with it setting they can try adding a bit of Cream of Tartar (1/2 tsp.). I do find that even in my DRY weather it is best used the same day. It is the only icing I use on ANGEL FOOD CAKE, because it is so light! Thanks for sharing, I found this on Pinterest!

You are right about this frosting not doing well with humidity. I had to add extra sugar and beat it forever and it still flopped after a few minutes. I'm glad I let it sit before frosting the cakes just in case. You just can't have frosting in an Aussie summer. I'm going to add more sugar, whip it again and bake on low heat to see if I get meringue. I'll try again in Winter- the traditional baking season around here.

No one ever said if they tried to use this as a filling for cupcakes or angelfood cake. Im hoping this may negate the sticky skin its said to get on it. I am dying to know if this is even feasable. Anyone?

I made this frosting for the first time a few days ago. It was so easy and WONDERFUL! My hubby loved it. It did take longer than 5 minutes to whip, but turned out beautifully. Will be my go to recipe. Thanks

I found this recipe on Pinterestmonths ago and hadn't found an excuse to try it.... Until now. I'm doubling the recipe and I live in Texas, and it's July. Today also is pretty humid. It's taking longer to make peaks, but that is totally fine because it tastes DIVINE! We're doing watermelon today, and my daughters' scout troop will love these cupcakes tonight! Thanks for sharing!

Coleen - did you have an answer to 'Anonymous' comment from September about using meringue powder instead of the actual egg whites? Just wondering - the egg whites are not an issue with me but would like some input from anyone who did actually use the meringue powder...

Colleen - I just found your site today, and have been bookmarking like crazy. I love the way you write in your posts, your comments on the taste/texture's, and your humor. This is the first recipe I've gone down to read the comments underneath, and I just wanted to add my own to the list. It's not a comment about the recipe at all, but directly to you - you have *incredible* patience and grace in your replying. Just reading these comments I was becoming *so* frustrated the further I went down that people kept asking the same questions others had already been posted (and you'd replied to!), they'd wanted to change the recipe and make it something else (and wanting your input on how to do it!), or complaining because they hadn't read the post fully about the eggs (or comments below that were *answered* - many times!!). You are incredible, and I take my hat off to you. Besides all of that, your recipes look amazing, and you do your posts so well. Thank you for taking the time to post them & your thoughts so that we may learn, succeed, and improve in our own kitchens. :) Take care!~LaLonneP.S. If you ever need someone to reply to comments of some that need their two brain cells knocked together, I'm up for hire. ;) Also, if you decide to delete this comment because you ARE so nice, I understand completely & my feelings will not be hurt. haha ;)

TO DANCERKIDD: I can only assume that you had traces of grease/oil on your beaters and/or bowl. I have NEVER had the problem you are describing, but that is exactly what it would do if your utensils had oil on them. It would also cause this problem if you use a plastic bowl.

Just tried this with Piña Colada flavored jello mix and put on a strawberry cake. Tasted great and made a bright white frosting which is what I wanted. Turned out exactly as described. I have a Kitchen Aid mixer - mixed on high speed for about 7 minutes. Ate the cake within hours after making it but it did get a bit soft and a little foamy overnight, but still tasted great. Will try refrigerating leftovers next time.